TokBox OpenTok API Extended Demo

TokBox's OpenTok video chat platform delivers the
simplicity and customization that developers need
for building modern web applications. This new
API lets you call the shots, including full
control over layout, who sees whom, and who just
watches. Keep reading for more details.

Complete layout control

Video chat APIs aren't new to TokBox or indeed to
the web. What's new is giving you
Javascript-level control over the sizing and
layout of each individual stream, allowing you to
decide which video streams to display and where on
your HTML page to display them. If you know how
to position a <div> element on the page, you
already know everything you need to know to
control layout with our new platform.

React and adapt as people join

The new API lets you register Javascript callback
routines so that you can react to a simple set of
common events, such as users joining or leaving
the chat. This gives you the power to create
dynamic, user-centred interfaces that react the
way you want them to.

Just want to watch?

Our new API lets you choose between participating
and watching. Participants upstream audio and
video that others can share. Watchers can see and
hear participants in the video chat, without
themselves having to participate. You control
which role a user plays, and when they switch
between them.

No distractions

A common complaint from first-time video chat
users is that they find it distracting to see
their own video signal. Our new API lets you
control whether you can see your own video image,
how big it is, and where you place it on the
screen. Again, if you know how to use a
<div> tag, you know pretty much everything
you need to know.

Increased scalability

Our newly simplified approach to managing chat
streams allows us to support even larger numbers
of participants. Using our new API, you can
support thousands of AV stream subscriptions in a
single context whether that's 1,000 users each
watching the same 2 participants, or 200 people
each seeing 10 different streams. You can even
stream to multiple pages simultaneously.

Hello, HTML5! Ready when you are

The new API requires Flash today - but by breaking
apart the monolithic video chat window and giving
you Javascript control over the elements, we are
getting ready to support live video streaming
using the new HTML5 <video> tags. As the
browser implementations mature to support
real-time video, switching from Flash-based video
display to HTML5-based video display should be
transparent to you, the developer.